"Often
the birds pull out loose feathers as they preen themselves. Usually
the feather
just floats away, but sometimes it gets stuck to
the bird's
beak or tongue and they can’t get it off. It’s sort of
like when you something on your tongue except you have
fingers to help get it off. With no fingers, the cranes just have to
shake their heads or swish their beaks in the water
until
they get the feather dislodged. This is very funny to watch, as you
can see the increasing frustration when they can’t get it off.

"This
will also sometimes happen if a bird picks up a feather simply to
play
with it. They’ll often pick up feathers and let them
go, or toss them in the air just like they do with sticks or grass
or other objects. Occasionally when they do this the feather
gets stuck."